The search and rescue operation for a six-year-old boy who fell into a manhole in Soweto on Sunday afternoon was called off on Monday evening and will resume at 8am on Tuesday.

The boy slipped into the manhole in Dlamini, Soweto, while playing with friends at the weekend.

Johannesburg Water said the incident was reported to it on Monday while it was alleged to have happened between 3pm and 4pm on Sunday

Officials on Monday undertook to cover the manhole. 

Teams from Johannesburg emergency management services (EMS) and police carried out search and rescue operations. 

Thembeka Magadla, a relative of the boy, told eNCA they only found out about what had happened to the boy on Monday morning.

She said the boy's sibling and their friends had kept quiet about what had occurred out of fear. 

Magadla said according to the children, there was a plank that had been placed over the open manhole. The boy was alleged to have climbed onto the plank and jumped on it, and this led to it breaking with the boy falling inside. 

Johannesburg’s MMC for environment and infrastructure services Michael Sun said he would monitor the situation and ensure no resources are spared in the rescue or recovery operation.

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